Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our concept of memory
âHighly entertaining.â âAdam Gopnik, The New Yorker
âFunny, curious, erudite, and full of useful details about ancient techniques of training memory.â âThe Boston Globe
An instant bestseller that has now become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.
âHighly entertaining.â âAdam Gopnik, The New Yorker
âFunny, curious, erudite, and full of useful details about ancient techniques of training memory.â âThe Boston Globe
An instant bestseller that has now become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.
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Community Reviews
This was a pretty interesting and entertaining book about the art of remembering. Foer, as a journalist, was covering the Memory Championships and, while interviewing some of the contenders, believes he needs to try to become a contender as well.
Remembering is an art. Back in the day (WAY back in the day), everything pertinent to life was memorized. Now days, we don't remember anything because we have computers, cell phones, etc. Honestly, who remembers phone numbers now? You just look up the person's name on your phone and there you go.
Ed Cookie, one of the mental athletes, takes to coaching Foer. We learn how to create memory palaces to remember pretty much everything. We learn tricks to memorizing a deck of cards (hence the title of the book). But really, this book isn't a how-to on improving your memory. It's a trip, through history, through interviews with savants, amnesiacs and Rainman, into why your memory is so important.
Our memories are intricately linked to who we are. It contains our life, our autobiography, everything we are.
I think the best piece of advice Foer offered up was that to remember you need to be present. You need to be mindful of what's going on around you. When you meet that new person, really pay attention to that person. Don't think about yourself and what you plan on saying or doing next. Be in the moment. In the end, Foer learned that the tricks were cool but he really learned to be here, in the now. And that's what helped the most.
How zen.
Remembering is an art. Back in the day (WAY back in the day), everything pertinent to life was memorized. Now days, we don't remember anything because we have computers, cell phones, etc. Honestly, who remembers phone numbers now? You just look up the person's name on your phone and there you go.
Ed Cookie, one of the mental athletes, takes to coaching Foer. We learn how to create memory palaces to remember pretty much everything. We learn tricks to memorizing a deck of cards (hence the title of the book). But really, this book isn't a how-to on improving your memory. It's a trip, through history, through interviews with savants, amnesiacs and Rainman, into why your memory is so important.
Our memories are intricately linked to who we are. It contains our life, our autobiography, everything we are.
I think the best piece of advice Foer offered up was that to remember you need to be present. You need to be mindful of what's going on around you. When you meet that new person, really pay attention to that person. Don't think about yourself and what you plan on saying or doing next. Be in the moment. In the end, Foer learned that the tricks were cool but he really learned to be here, in the now. And that's what helped the most.
How zen.
A little long with lots of tangents but informative. It's all about the Memory Palaces. That's the main takeaway.
Joshua Foer gives us a fascinating look at the science of how memory and identity are intertwined. The playfulness of the title of this book continues is mirrored in the narrative style. We get a Queenâs Gambit style story through various voices and research subjects. Each section laced with equal parts humor and jaw dropping insights. Of all the knowledge shared the most distinct is that there is a stark difference between learning and memorizing as a discipline.
The memory techniques discussed are enticing shortcuts to getting more out of life but there are trade offs that youâll learn about. Put simply, a head full of facts does not equate to a head full of knowledge, nor does it a genius make. That said, the need to revisit our relationship with memory is well argued here. Especially in the connection between what we learn and how we are tasked with remembering it. The lingering question is how to find a balance between the two and how are education system is critical to that outcome.
I was fortunate to have a 4th grade teacher who taught us many of these techniques but more importantly which one we individually were more inclined to. The other exciting connection then is how science can help us all do this better. Specifically, those who have suffered memory loss and similar. In the broader sense, how we manage the association between internalized memories and our external digitized ones. Joshua Foerâs own journey in participatory journalism is a great place to start.
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